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Thanksgiving/Transcript (Update)
Transcript An animation shows Moby putting the finishing touches on a large turkey. A long table is shown with a full Thanksgiving dinner spread—mashed potatoes, stuffing, pies, and more. Tim sits at one end of the table. Everyone else seated at the table are robots. Four small robots sit at a separate kids' table. Everyone is smiling and excited to eat. Tim takes a bite out of a turkey leg, pauses, then chugs a glass of water. Suddenly everyone stops and stares at Tim, including Moby. MOBY: Beep? TIM: It's a little… Moby stares at Tim. Everyone is silent and waiting. TIM: Dry. Moby runs across the top of the dinner table to where Tim sits. He pulls out a pitcher of gravy and dumps the entire thing onto Tim's plate. MOBY: Beep. Moby pats Tim on the head. Tim looks at his plate of gravy. TIM: Uh, thanks? Tim pulls out a letter, which has gravy splotches on it. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, how did Thanksgiving begin? From, Kerry and Tibi. Well, you've probably heard the story of a group of settlers called the pilgrims. An animation shows a group of people in stereotypical pilgrim outfits—the men wear hats with buckles that match the buckles on their belts. The women wear bonnets and aprons. They are all dressed in white and black. TIM: How in 1620 they came to America in a ship called the Mayflower. How they made friends with the Native people and had them over for a feast. And they called it Thanksgiving, and we've been celebrating it ever since. An animation shows a ship appear in the background. A small group of Native people stand next to the pilgrims, and one Native American puts his arm around a pilgrim. A banner above them reads "Thanksgiving 1621!" TIM: Only problem is, a lot of that stuff is… slightly inaccurate. They weren't called "pilgrims" and they didn't dress that way. They wouldn't have called the meal "thanksgiving," either. The "Thanksgiving 1621!" banner falls on top of the Native people and the settlers. TIM: For the settlers, "thanksgiving" meant a religious day of fasting and prayer. This was more like a harvest festival. As for their relationship with the Wampanoag... well, "friends" is kinda pushing it. An animation shows the Native people and the pilgrims step away from each other, crossing their arms. MOBY: Beep? TIM: The Wampanoag are a Native American people. Back then, they controlled a big chunk of what's now Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They'd been living there for thousands of years, in dozens of different villages. And they'd been trading with European visitors for over a century. They'd never allowed any permanent settlement on their land, though. An animation shows a map of present-day New England. The animation highlights the areas of Massachusetts and Rhode Island where the Wampanoag lived. Small icons of huts called wetus populate the area. TIM: Then in 1616, a disease brought by European traders swept the region. In just a few years, two-thirds of the Wampanoag died. An animation shows a wave of gray hitting the area where the Wampanoag lived. Skulls and crossbones appear above 8 of the 12 huts. TIM: Oosamequan, their leader, was worried about invasion. The Narragansett, a rival nation nearby, had been untouched by the disease. So, when the Mayflower landed on his doorstep, he saw an opportunity. Oosamequan looks out at the sea as the Mayflower is arriving. MOBY: Beep? TIM: The folks on the Mayflower were English. Back home, they'd belonged to the Church of England, the official state religion. An animation shows a ship, the Mayflower with a British flag raised. The same flag is raised above a church in England. TIM: But they believed the Church had strayed from true Christianity. When it became clear they couldn't change the Church, they started their own, separate faith. An animation shows a group of English men and women protesting outside the church. They are holding signs that say "Purify the Church" and "Purify Now." A priest opens a window of the church, sticks his tongue out at them, and slams the window shut. The protestors drop their signs and walk away. TIM: These Separatists left for Holland, where they were free to practice their beliefs. Eventually, they set sail for North America, to build a society based around their version of Christianity. An animation shows a map with a small boat icon. The boat sails from England to Holland, then from Holland to North America. TIM: When they finally arrived, it was November, and winter was in the air. About 100 people stepped onshore, weak and sick from a difficult journey. They were totally unprepared for the harsh weather and the challenges of their new life. An animation shows men and women getting off the large Mayflower ship using smaller boats. It's snowing. They stagger onto the shore with noses and ears red from the cold. TIM: Low on food, they stole from Wampanoag stockpiles. And they robbed graves, taking jewelry and other valuables. An animation shows a settler coming out of a wetu hut with an armful of corn. TIM: By mid-winter, people were dying every day of starvation and illness. Like the Wampanoag, the settlers feared their weakness would invite attack. The settlers are huddled around a fire, wrapped in blankets and freezing in the snow. One man is pale and coughing. TIM: So, they took drastic steps to hide it: They dragged the sick from their beds, propping them against trees with guns in their hands. A sick man is sitting at the base of a snowy tree with a gun in his arms. He's wrapped in a blanket and coughing. TIM: And they buried their dead at night. Only half of them survived the winter. An animation shows two people digging a hole in the moonlight. MOBY: Beep? TIM: One day that March, a Native man walked into the settlers' camp. This was Samoset, a leader from Maine who was staying with the Wampanoag. To the settlers' astonishment, he said, "Welcome, Englishmen!" He'd been sent by the Wampanoag to arrange a meeting with the newcomers. An animation shows Samoset walking toward the camp. He is carrying a bow and arrows. When he arrives, the settlers' jaws drop. TIM: A few days later, Oosamequan stopped by… along with a little security. An animation shows Oosamequan alone on a hill. Then his men step forward, revealing that he brought dozens of people with him. TIM: Both groups were suspicious of the other. They exchanged hostages, so that neither side would pull any tricks. Only then did John Carver, the governor of Plymouth, sit down with Oosamequan. He called Oosamequan by his title, Massasoit, which means “great leader.” John Carver and Massasoit shake hands over a table. TIM: They shared a ceremonial drink and agreed to terms: They would always meet in peace, and they would defend each other from attack. An animation shows three cups with liquid get picked up, then return empty. TIM: The treaty saved Plymouth. Oosamequan sent an English-speaking man named Tisquantum to stay with the settlers. The English called him Squanto, and he taught them how to survive. He showed them how to plant crops that would thrive, and how to use fish as fertilizer. Squanto digs a hole as the English look on. He puts a fish carcass in the hole, then covers it back up. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Tisquantum had actually grown up right there. Before the town became Plymouth, the Wampanoag called it Patuxet. It was one of the villages that had been wiped out by disease. An animation shows Patuxet thriving before the disease swept the Wampanoag village. TIM: The Separatists chose the dead village as the site of their settlement. The hard work of clearing the land had already been done, by Tisquantum's people. And thanks to his help, Plymouth had a bountiful harvest to celebrate in the fall of 1621. An animation shows Squanto and a few English standing next to a successful green cornfield. Squanto carries an armful of fresh corn. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, the settlers didn’t send out formal invitations. The Wampanoag heard gunfire coming from Plymouth. Were the settlers attacking... or being attacked? Oosemequan brought 90 men to find out. An animation shows Oosemequan leading a large group of men towards the settlers' camp. TIM: They found that the settlers were shooting off guns to celebrate the harvest. An animation shows the English shooting off guns and a small feast laid out on a table. TIM: Oosamequan decided they would join the feast—and maybe keep an eye on things. Although there wasn't quite enough food for 90 unexpected guests! John Carver holds out a plate of food to Oosamequan. Then a crowd of men show up behind Oosamequan and Carver looks overwhelmed. TIM: So, the Wampanoag went out hunting and brought back some deer. The eating, drinking, and celebrating went on for three days. And the alliance between the two groups would last almost half a century. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Right, so how come we're celebrating this meal four centuries later? Well, in 1863, Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday. He thought it might help unite the nation during the Civil War. An animation shows Abraham Lincoln unleash a banner that says "Thanksgiving 1863" over the White House. TIM: Most of the Thanksgiving traditions we have today came from that time: Turkey and pumpkin pie were popular in New England in 1863, not 1621. An animation shows a roasted turkey, a basket of dinner rolls, and a pumpkin pie on a table. TIM: And those buckled hats? 19th-century artists made them up! They thought it made the so-called pilgrims look old-timey. An animation shows a painter working on a painting of two pilgrims. He adds the buckle to the man's hat and it glimmers. TIM: And the tale of their struggle made a perfect national myth: an inspiring story about a country's values and history. The settlers were cast as the first Americans, boldly taming a wilderness. And even in the midst of great hardship, taking time to give thanks for what they had. An animation shows John Carver standing on a rock with his hands on his hips, and golden light beaming down on him. Other pilgrims are gathered around him, some praying. MOBY: Beep? TIM: No, bravery and gratitude are awesome qualities that we should all try to live up to. That's kinda the purpose of national myths: to provide examples of our best selves. An animation shows the glowing image of John Carver with the pilgrims as a painting hanging on a wall. A group of kids are gathered around it. TIM: But myths oversimplify complex stories. We know that Massachusetts was not a wilderness. It was home to a civilization that went back thousands of years. An animation zooms into the painting and shows the nearby Wampanoag village. TIM: And Plymouth's founding was a dark turning point for those people. They were pushed off their land, and had to adapt to a different way of life to survive. An animation shows a map of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with the Wampanoag area highlighted green. There are small icons of wetus on the map. As three English ships arrive on the coast of Massachusetts, a wave of brown turns the wetus into small English homes. TIM: That pattern was repeated across the continent for the next 200 years. Which is why some Native Americans consider Thanksgiving a day of mourning. An animation shows a fuller map of North America. The wave of brown gradually highlights the entire area. MOBY: Beep? TIM: For those of us who do celebrate, we can honor that perspective. Taking time to consider it wouldn't be a bad addition to your list of Thanksgiving traditions. Even if it's a little heavier than watching football, hanging out with friends, and.... An animation shows that Moby has just poured the gravy into a big pitcher. He raises it to his mouth. The other robots at the table begin to pound their silverware on the table in a unified beat. TIM: Oh no, don't… An animation shows Moby pouring the gravy into his mouth. Some of it misses his mouth and dribbles down his chin. TIM: Don't do that. Moby continues to pour the gravy into his mouth as the robots pound on the table. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts